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Story of a Patriot DVD

Colonial Williamsburg

Follow the story of Virginia Assembly member John Frye (played by the young Jack Lord)
during the crucial period when the colonists resisted British taxation without representation,
met force with force and chose revolution. Includes a short documentary on the restoration
of the original film.

The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation Archive Series

Through the voices of the restoration, colonial life, and historic trades, the ARCHIVE
SERIES speaks from our past, reflecting the intellectual thought, art, and daily life
of a vibrant colonial period.

In 1928, a vision shared by philanthropist John D. Rockefeller, Jr., and rector of
Bruton Parish Church, Reverend Dr. W.A.R. Goodwin, led to the restoration of Colonial
Williamsburg's Historic Area, turning the sleepy southern town into a national icon.

Through the voices of the restoration, colonial life, and historic trades, the ARCHIVE
SERIES speaks from our past, reflecting the intellectual thought, art, and daily life
of a vibrant colonial period.

Pick your favorites or buy the whole series:
Williamsburg Restored
Music of Williamsburg
The Colonial Naturalist Mark Catesby
Gunsmith
Hammerman
Search for a Century
Silversmith
A Glorious System of Things
Forged in Wood
The Rockefeller Family
Cabinetmaker

View video clips of each program on the Williamsburg Marketplace site.

Spring Entertaining Style with Cindy Cragg

From basic place settings to tea at the beach, this exciting DVD is your resource
for hosting a spring soiree.

From basic place settings to tea at the beach, this exciting DVD is your resource
for hosting a spring soiree. Cindy Cragg, home stylist and a Williamsburg native,
shares easy ideas for making your occasion unforgettable. Cindy has charmed home enthusiasts
nationwide with her formula for decorating success–keep it simple, keep it fresh,
keep it fun. Find out how her twists on 18th-century style make a sensation for today's
springtime entertaining.

Spring Entertaining Style DVD,
Run time 55 minutes.
No. 140186

$14.95

Jefferson & Adams: A Stage Play

Jefferson & Adams: A Stage Play, written by Howard Ginsberg and based on his original
play, is the moving and powerful dramatization of the remarkable friendship between
two Presidents of the United States--with the forthright Mrs. Adams always playing
a major role.

DVD includes 95-minute version of the play, plus a 15-minute documentary on the "Making
of Jefferson & Adams" with behind-the-scenes footage and interview with the playwright,
director, and cast.

Jefferson & Adams: A Stage Play, written by Howard Ginsberg and based on his original
play, is the moving and powerful dramatization of the remarkable friendship between
two Presidents of the United States--with the forthright Mrs. Adams always playing
a major role.

In a fast-paced series of encounters, we see the turbulent relationship between Thomas
Jefferson (portrayed by Colonial Williamsburg's interpreter Bill Barker) and John
Adams (by veteran interpreter Sam Goodyear) as their friendship ignites, flourishes,
ruptures, and resolves itself. The ever-perceptive Abigail Adams (Colonial Williamsburg's
interpreter Abigail Schumann) acts as catalyst and motivator while steadfastly maintaining
her own beliefs.

The lives of Thomas Jefferson and John Adams were so intertwined with the fate of
America that by extraordinary coincidence--or was it an act of will?--both men died
on the same day, on July 4th, on the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.

The play spans 50 years of their friendship starting in the early days of the Republic,
extending through two wars with England, and on through their vigorous retirement.
They continually clash over foreign entanglements, domestic politics, and the proper
role of federal government--debates which continue to this day.

The Rockefeller Family and Colonial Williamsburg

Without the Rockefeller family there would be no Colonial Williamsburg. This video
is the story of how one of America's great industrial families came to sponsor the
reconstruction of Virginia's colonial capital, so that in John D. Rockefeller, Jr.'s
words "The future may learn from the past". Told with the warmth and humor of the
first person recollections of David Rockefeller, and illustrated by rarely seen photographs
and film footage this video chronicles the Rockefeller family's dedication to creating
the national treasure, Colonial Williamsburg.

"Christmas in Colonial Williamsburg" captures the extensive preparations, elaborate
decorations, holiday music (both sacred and secular), the fanciful and festive foods
of the 18th century, and a sampling of the varied experiences enjoyed by visitors.
The video concludes where the celebration begins -- with the spectacular fireworks
and festive revelry of Williamsburg's Grand Illumination. 29 minutes.

Silversmith of Williamsburg

A silversmith takes a battered old bowl and a few scraps of silver and fashions a
magnificent new coffeepot.

The "Silversmith of Williamsburg" is one of an esteemed series of videos that look
at the trades programs of Colonial Williamsburg. Modern day craftspersons are trained
under a master-apprentice system to use the tools and techniques of the eighteenth
century to create 21st century replicas of colonial objects. In this video the silversmith
takes a battered old bowl, and a few scraps of silver and fashions a magnificent new
coffeepot.

The Art and Mystery of the Cabinetmaker Crafting a Card Table

Colonial Williamsburg Master cabinetmaker Mack Headley shares some of the arts and
mysteries of his trade as he creates a reproduction of an eighteenth-century card
table.

In the eighteenth century, master tradesmen and women passed along their skills and
techniques "the art and mystery" of their trades to apprentices. With the coming of
industrialization many of those skills were lost, but through research, experimentation
and practice the tradesmen and women of Colonial Williamsburg have relearned the arts
and mysteries of their trades. In this video Colonial Williamsburg Master cabinetmaker
Mack Headley shares some of the arts and mysteries of his trade as he creates a reproduction
of an eighteenth-century card table.

Forged in Wood Building Anderson's Blacksmith Shop

Colonial Williamsburg's housewrights built a new eighteenth-century building using
the same tools, materials, and skills as their colonial counterparts, and transformed
the construction into a hands-on adventure in history for visitors.

James Anderson was a blacksmith and entrepreneur whose shop grew into a small industrial
complex just off of the Duke of Gloucester Street in Williamsburg. For Colonial Williamsburg
the problem in interpreting this important business was that nothing remained of the
shop but some traces of a foundation. Detective work by historians, archaeologists,
and architectural historians provided the plans, and Colonial Williamsburg's housewrights
did the rest. They built a new eighteenth-century building using the same tools, materials,
and skills as their colonial counterparts, and transformed the construction into a
hands-on adventure in history for visitors.

A Day in the Life

The "A Day in the Life" series, now on DVD, gives a glimpse of daily life in the 18th
century through stories of people from the past: working-class young men, women, gentlemen,
merchants, enslaved and free African Americans, and more. Learn about how their lives
intersected and how society functioned in early America.

The "A Day in the Life" series, now on DVD, gives a glimpse of daily life in the 18th
century through stories of people from the past: working-class young men, women, gentlemen,
merchants, enslaved and free African Americans, and more. Learn about how their lives
intersected and how society functioned in early America.

This $99.00 3-disc
boxed set includes two DVDs with eight 18-minute video episodes, and one CD-ROM with
teacher materials, including background information, a timeline and glossary, and
lesson plans with primary sources (in PDF format). The 3-D immersive role playing
game Betwixt Folly and Fate and a link to the Dress the Part interactive Web activity
are also included. Learn
More

Our Common Passage

Four women in 18th century America reflect on their lives and hardships in this stunning
one-woman drama, written and performed by Abigail Schumann.

A Glorious System of Things

The eighteenth century was an age marked by scientific curiosity. In the video Peter
Littlefield, a traveling lecturer, arrives in Williamsburg for a series of lectures
on the solar system and the working of electricity. Littlefield demonstrates a telescope,
a barometer, an air pump, and a model of the solar system and shows how scientific
knowledge was shared and disseminated in eighteenth-century America.

The Colonial Naturalist

Mark Catesby came to Williamsburg in the early 1700s when Virginia was no more than
a few clearings carved out of dense forests. Catesby became fascinated with the plants
and animals he found in the New World and began collecting specimens and making drawings.
Catseby's two visits to the colonies resulted in a magnificent set of 220 color plates
that remains a valuable resource for naturalists and impressive works of art. The
Colonial Naturalist is the story of Mark Catesby, America's first natural scientist.

Music of Williamsburg

This video recreates the sights, and especially the sounds, that permeated colonial
America.

Music in eighteenth-century Williamsburg was a staple of everyday life. Music formed
the accompaniment for everything from children's games to slave labors to the marching
militia. This video recreates the sights and especially the sounds that permeated
colonial America.